Are child seats safe?

Parents should carry children in rear-facing car seats until the age of four, according to a study from the British Medical Journal.

The report suggests many parents place their babies in forward-facing car seats and are unaware of the safety implications.

Evidence suggests rear-facing seats are safer in the event of a crash and can help to avoid neck, chest and spinal injuries.

Dr Elizabeth Watson, GP at Sunny Meed Surgery in Woking and Dr Michael Monteiro, specialist registrar at Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford, analysed existing car seat data.

They found front-facing seats could add to the likelihood of severe injury in the event of a head-on collision.

Using the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's vehicle crash database, the authors investigated incidents involving 870 children between 1998 and 2003.They found rear-facing seats were more effective than forward-facing seats in both head-on and side-on crashes.

They also looked at data from Sweden, where about three in four young children travel in rear-facing seats. The data suggested three out of the six children who died in front-facing seats between 1999 and 2006 could have survived if they had been travelling in rear-facing seats.

The authors said many parents and healthcare providers are unaware it is safer to leave children in rear-facing seats for as long as possible, and some are unaware they even exist.

They want the labelling on European seats changed, which they said may imply forward-facing seats are as safe as rear-facing seats for children over 20lb (9kg).

Duncan Vernon, road safety manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: “We support the call to make rear-facing seats for older toddlers more widely available as a way of improving the safety of children.

“But this doesn’t mean forward-facing seats are ‘dangerous’.

“Our advice is to keep a child in a rear-facing seat until they reach the upper end of the weight range (13kg), unless they have grown out of the seat.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “We don’t discourage the use of rear-facing seats, as long as they are type-approved and suitable for the weight of the child.”

What’s the law?

Children below 135cm (4ft 5ins) or 12 years of age must wear a child restraint.

Those not wearing a seatbelt are breaking the law, and the driver responsible could face a fine between £30 and £500.

There are four types of child seats:

• Rear-facing child seat – for children under four years old up to 13kgs
• Front-facing child seat – for children under four years old up to 18kgs
• Booster seat – for children over four years old who weigh more than 15kgs
• Booster cushion – for children over six years old who weigh at least 22kgs

It’s safer to put rear-facing child seats in the rear of the car as opposed to the passenger seat.

In the event of a collision, a child could be harmed if an airbag is deployed.